'They still had Kohli': Former World Champion comments on India's performance in WTC Final

Why you're reading this: Indian cricket fans continue to wait for an ICC title Team after Rohit Sharma and Co. lost to Australia in the WTC 2023 Final played at the Kennington Oval, London. The Indian batting line up suffered another collapse at an ICC event and big names like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Cheteshwar Pujara didn't perform as per their names. 

3 things you need to know 

• Team India lost its second consecutive ICC knockout match in 2 years 
• Team India lost to England in the semi-final of the 2022 T20 World Cup
• Australia defeated India by a margin of 209 runs in the WTC Final

Team India's unbreakable bond with ICC knockouts 

The Indian cricket team seems to have an unbreakable bond with the ICC knockouts as they choked against Australia in the sumiit clash. The batters delivered a flop show yet again and got out cheaply by playing unnecessary shots. The Australian team on the other hand performed brilliantly and outplayed India in every department. This was also the team's ninth loss in an ICC knockout match in the last ten years.

READ: ICC hands heavy sanctions to India and Australia for Code of Conduct breach in WTC Final

'These two needed to form a big partnership': Glenn McGrath

Team India needed to chase down 444 runs to win the WTC Final 2023 and needed 280 runs to win on Day 5. They were 164/3 at the end of Day 4 and had Ajinkya Rahane and Virat Kohli at the crease. But at the start of the fifth day, Scott Boland dismissed Kohli befor lunch and the rest is history.

READ: 'The idea should be long-term': Ex-selector suggests India to look past two senior players

Former Australian bowler and world champion Glenn McGrath believes that the conditions have been different in England as compared to the Indian cricket team and also mentioned that they wanted Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane to create a partnership on Day 5. 

Glenn McGrath while commenting on India's performance said:

The conditions in England are very different from Indian cricket, this is called dressing room pressure. I know both the teams haven't played much Test cricket in the recent past, but that's what happens. You roll a bit into that last day, they still had Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane at the crease. Together these two needed to form a big partnership. If you lose quick wickets, it can happen. This is a one-off test match. I won't worry too much

The Indian cricket team was in the driver's seat on Day 1 of the WTC Final 2023, but a few tactical mistakes took the match far away from them and also the Indian batsmen also played a lot of useless shots and got out in an irresponsible manner.